Britney Spears: Madness, Managers, and Manipulators

Britney Spears' family has fired yet another business manager of the embattled pop star. Britney's family has accused Howard Grossman of "aiding and abetting" Britney against their instructions during a time when the courts have given them the power to try to reign their daughter in.

The Spears family has also made allegations that another "manager", Sam Lufti, of being a Swengali, of inducing Britney's downward spiral into temporary madness.

We wondered, how many managers has Britney had in the past few years and who were they? Did any of Britney's "crazy" episodes intertwine with her managers, coming or going?

Larry Rudolph

Britney's first manager, Larry Rudolph, accredited with "discovering" the new child prodigy, 13-year-old Britney, and who stayed with Britney off and on for almost a decade until the fall of 2004, less than one month after she married Kevin Federline.

October 10, 2004, Rudolph announced he was no longer Britney's manager, Rudolph working for Maloof Entertainment.

Soon after her marriage to Federline, Spears announced she would take a break in her career to start a family. She gave birth to her first son, Sean Preston Federline, on Sept. 14, 2005. Her second child, Jayden James Federline, was born Sept. 12, 2006. By November, Britney had filed for divorce from the two boy's father.

Jan. 2, 2007

LAS VEGAS — Britney Spears' manager denied reports that the pop star passed out in a Las Vegas nightclub shortly after leading the New Year's Eve countdown, saying she just fell asleep.

"By about 1 o'clock, she was just done, so we took her out," Spears' manager, Larry Rudolph, told The Associated Press Monday. "She was not drunk. She was just tired and falling asleep."

But a Pure source told the Las Vegas Review Journal the bubbly star had been knocking back pineapple rum cocktails with champagne when she collapsed shortly after midnight, and that she had to be helped back to her hotel room by bodyguards. Source - Fox News

Jan. 4

Larry Rudolph -The New Year is about to bring a new, improved Britney Spears, her manager vows, adding that the pop princess is aware that her image has suffered lately.

"She understands what's going on right now, and she calls it her 'rocky moment,' " manager Larry Rudolph tells USA Today. "Britney knows exactly what she needs to do."

Rudolph's comments are, in part, in response to an announcement that on Jan. 31, the 6-year-old "World of Britney" Web site, the largest unofficial fan site devoted to the 25-year-old singer, is shutting down. (In its first five years, the site reportedly attracted about 30 million Spears fans.) Source - People

Feb 16

Britney stays less than 24 hours in an off-shore drug rehab facility in Antigua. The next night the world is electrified to learn Britney had had her head shaved in public.

Feb. 22

Britney admits herself to a treatment facility in Malibu, California. According to Britney's manager, Larry Rudolph, Spears left on March 20 after "completing her treatment."

April 6th

Does Britney Spears “hate” her manager, Larry Rudolph? And is Rudolph even her manager?

Here’s a better question: Who is in charge of Britney Spears, anyway?

Spears, for example, has been telling friends that she “hates” Rudolph and never intended to sign with him again after leaving his orbit in October 2004. That’s when Spears severed her relations with Rudolph after nearly a decade.

But then, when Spears went off the deep end last year following her separation from the infamously impaired Kevin Federline, Rudolph stepped in and got Spears’ name back on the dotted line.

“She signed a five year contract with him,” says a source. “She says she didn’t know what she was doing at the time, and can’t stand him. But what can she do? Bring in a lawyer and say she signed under duress? That she was drunk or stoned?” Source - Fox News

April 13

17 April 2007 (Sawf News) - Britney fired her manager Larry Rudolph on Friday (13 Apr 2007), the same day she dissed her management in an emotional, almost crazed, rant delivered on a paparazzi video. April 13

In a classic example of shooting the messenger, in her rant the emotionally distraught pop tart held her management responsible for believing she had an alcohol problem and sending her to rehab.

Pagesix which broke the story also reports Britney holds Rudolph responsible for introducing her to erstwhile mentor Paris Hilton.

In a related move she has rehired Leslie Sloane Zelnik, her former PR. Source - Sawf

April 20

Jamie Spears told us in an e-mail: "When Larry Rudolph talked Britney into going into rehab, he was doing what her mother, father and team of professionals with over 100 years of experience knew needed to be done. She was out of control. Larry was the one chosen by the team to roll up his sleeves and deliver the message, to help save her life.

"The Spears family would like to publicly apologize to Larry for our daughter’s statements about him over the past few weeks. Unfortunately, she blames him and her family for where she is at today with her kids and career. Larry has always been there for Britney. For this, we will forever be grateful to him." Source - HollywoodGrind

Britney is involved in a "hit and run" accident in a parking lot in Los Angeles.

September 17

Britney Spears's manager has quit – issuing a statement Monday just hours after her lawyer also stopped representing her.

"It saddens us to confirm media reports that we have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears," her management company The Firm said in the statement. "We believe Britney is enormously talented, and has made a terrific record. But current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job. We wish Britney the best."

Spears had been represented by Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm for the past month. He was the second person leaving Spears's camp on Monday. Source - People

Sept. 22

LOS ANGELES - Britney Spears legal woes mounted Friday as prosecutors charged her with misdemeanor counts of hit and run and driving without a valid license after she allegedly smashed her car into another in a parking lot in August.

If convicted, the singer could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine for each count, said Nick Velasquez, spokesman for the city attorney’s office. Source - MSNBC

October 1

It's been motherhood under a microscope for Britney Spears, who lost custody of her two children — at least temporarily — on Monday (October 1) when a judge ordered the singer to turn over her children to ex-husband Kevin Federline until further notice, effective Wednesday.Source - MTV

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October 18

As celebrity trends go, the crotch shot is so not hot. Heck, even Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton started putting on panties two seasons ago. But just last week, Britney Spears treated the world to yet another gander at her no-no. Why does the plummeting pop star keep doing it? The latest issue of In Touch Weekly delivers the scoop on Brit’s distaste for drawers.

“The underwear thing is ridiculous — and I’ve told her,” Britney’s pal, jewelry designer Tuesday Knight, told In Touch. “I’ve said, ‘You cannot walk into a store wearing just a shirt with your underwear off.’ I’ve told her that no one will take her seriously when she does this.” Source - MSNBC

October 28

The misdemeanor hit-and-run charge against Britney Spears was dismissed on Thursday, Oct. 25. Spears' lawyers reached a settlement with the owner of the car Brit hit back in August, offering to pay approximately $1,000 for damages.

However, Britney still has to deal with the charge of driving without a valid California driver's license, stemming from the same August accident. The pop star pleaded not guilty via her lawyer J. Michael Flanagan in court Thursday. She was ordered to appear in court on Nov. 26 to deal with the issue. Source - Star Magazine

Nov. 13

After months of having a great relationship, Sam Lufti,the guy that has been Britney biggest friend and supporter is now her new manager. This news comes straight from Page Six news paper and they also report Lynne Spears also got a new manager - someone from Christian group, editors that have a contract with the mother of three that its writing a book over raising her successful children. Source - Britneyfans.org

Nov 29

Britney Spears stripped off in the middle of an adult shop to try on raunchy underwear.

The 'Toxic' singer visited West Hollywood's X-rated Hustler Store and although staff told her she couldn't try on the lingerie, she lost her temper and whipped off her panties in front of shocked shoppers.

A source told Us Weekly magazine, "Staff employees told her they don't allow people to try on underwear. Source - AZCentral

A New Year

Jan. 3, 2008

It was a chaotic night at the Spears household, as police were called to Britney’s home in a custody dispute that “lasted nearly three hours before an intoxicated Spears reportedly turned over her children to ex-husband Kevin Federline.”

Officer Jason Lee, a police spokesman, told City News Service: “Officers were called to the home around 8 p.m. on Thursday, and the 26-year-old singer turned over the children around 10:50 p.m.” Source - Celebrity Gossip

Jan. 4

With Britney Spears locked down in a hospital following her bizarre late-night standoff, a Los Angeles court commissioner has granted Kevin Federline sole custody of the ex-couple's two young sons.

"I'm not happy about any of these events," said K-Fed lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan upon exiting the courthouse following the brief closed-door afternoon session.

In a phone call to Barbara Walters, Britney Spears' pal Sam Lutfi revealed that the pop singer "is starting some kind of treatment" for "mental issues," the talk show host announced on The View Monday.

"There is a man named Sam Lutfi, who is the manager and very good friend of Britney," Walters told the audience. "He has been staying with her constantly.

"He got in touch with us... I can't vouch for this... He seemed to be very knowledgeable and he certainly was very nice.

"He said Britney was suffering from what he describes as mental issues which are treatable.

"He said that she has been to a psychiatrist and ... I assume she is starting some kind of treatment. Source - Usmagazine

Jan 31

It has been made clear in the past few days that Sam Lufti, Britney Spears' "manager" (as he calls himself) is hanging on by a thread in her life. Brit's mom hates the guy and we now know why. MTV has uncovered numerous reports and court fillings which show Lufti has countless restraining orders against him, for harassment of people and their siblings. To mention a few, he's harassed friends, neighbors, acquaintances plus their families. He has even sent nude photos of himself to an old friend and encouraged him to commit suicide. Oh, what a friend. We now see the urgency to get him as far away from Brit as possible and why her mom always wanted to kick him out of her daughters life. Source - Whyfame

Jamie Spears, accompanied by ex-wife Lynne, was granted temporary legal control over their daughter in an emergency court hearing Friday – a move that gives her dad new power over her hospital visitors and could keep her close pal Sam Lutfi at bay.

Commissioner Reva Goetz stated that she found Jamie's petition for conservatorship to be in the singer's "best interest," and that Jamie was a "suitable and qualified person." Source - People

Feb. 4, 2008

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A hearing in the child custody battle between Britney Spears and her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, was postponed on Monday because the troubled pop star remains hospitalized for psychiatric evaluation, media reports said.

The hearing was scheduled after lawyers for Spears, who has lost custody of her two young sons to Federline, sought visitation rights with the boys. Source - Reuters

Feb. 6, 2008

A restraining order was issued against Britney Spears’ manager after he was accused of drugging her, parading her in front of the paparazzi and cutting her phone lines.

Osama Lutfi, 33, the pop star's sometime companion, guru and manager has been at Spears’s side throughout much of her well-documented public breakdown.

Lynne Spears said there were a string of disagreements between her daughter and Mr Lutfi. “Sam had told Britney she was an unfit mother, a piece of trash and a whore, that she cares more about Adnan (Ghalib), her current boyfriend than she cares about her kids and that she does not deserve her kids,” she said.

To keep Britney quiet Mrs Spears claimed that her manager said he ground up drugs and put them in her food. “He told us that the doctor who is treating her now is trying to get her into a sleep-induced coma so that they could then give her drugs to heal her brain.”

Late that same evening, she said Britney decided she needed to go shopping for lipstick. Before they left the house, she said Mr Lutfi took Britney upstairs and gave her something “to make her more lighthearted, happy and fun.” Source - Times Online

Feb. 6, 2008

HOLLYWOOD - Britney Spears' manager/companion Sam Lutfi is planning on writing a book about the star's troubled personal life.

Lutfi, who was served with a restraining order on Friday and instructed to stay away from Spears, has been asking the troubled singer to dictate her memoirs to him and is looking forward to putting the notes into a book.

Last year Lutfi denied he was planning on selling Spears' private diaries to U.K. publications for a reported $2 million, but now it appears the intimate entries may take the form of a tell-all book instead. Source - Hollywood.com

Feb 7

LOS ANGELES — Why was she released?

That's the lingering question after Britney Spears was discharged from the hospital Wednesday over the recommendation of her treating psychiatrist and against the wishes of her father, who has been named as her conservator.

Jamie and Lynne Spears, in a joint statement given to The Associated Press through their attorney, said they were "extremely disappointed" to learn their daughter had been allowed out.

Howard Grossman, the business manager, tells PEOPLE he is aware he was the subject of a closed-door hearing Thursday but he has no idea why a temporary conservator's motion to give Spears's father the right to fire him was granted.

Court papers show that Grossman was served Thursday with orders to surrender "all documents, records and assets relating to Britney Spears."

"The only thing I will say is my reputation speaks for itself," Grossman says. "I couldn't tell you why they chose this path." Source - People

Feb. 11, 2008

Last week, Britney's manager Howard Grossman was mysteriously fired. Well now we know why. According to TMZ,"Lawyers for the conservators accused Howard Grossman of ignoring their ground rules. One lawyer wrote in a declaration that she told Grossman "he was not permitted to give Britney any money, credit or access to money or credit cards or to meet with her ... at the Beverly Hills Hotel or anywhere else.

The lawyer claims Grossman defied the order by meeting Brit at the Bev Hills Hotel last week. The lawyer, Jeryll Cohen, is pissed off because Grossman also directed Bev Hills Mercedes to deliver one of Britney's cars to the hotel without first getting the conservators' permission. Cohen says Grossman's excuse was that "he wanted to build her [Brit's] confidence in him." Source - Breathe Heavy

Howard Grossman is out, as well as Sam Lufti, unless Britney changes her mind. And what is Britney up to during the middle all this chaos of custody battles, mental health issues and parents frantic to help their out of control daughter?

Feb 11

Britney Spears taught dance to children not much older than her own boys on Monday at Millennium Dance Complex in North Hollywood.

The pop star — who skipped the Grammys — kicked off the class by introducing herself to each five year old and shaking their hand, a source said. “She comes in, she winds them up, and then tells them, ‘I guess I have to introduce myself to you guys!’” said Robert Baker, Millennium co-owner.

Britney looked happy and upbeat, he said. Madonna’s “Material Girl” and “True Blue” were part of her play list. Britney led the class in “her favorite brown cowboy boots, fishnet stockings, a red short skirt, and a bluish greenish top that hangs down past her skirt.” Source - Us Magazine